1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to harnesses for animals and particularly to safety harnesses for the restraining of a pet such as a cat or dog, in a vehicle.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
When a pet is transported in the cargo area or the passenger compartment of a vehicle, it is desirable to restrain the pet so as to prevent it from being tossed about in the vehicle during abrupt stops or collisions. This will not only protect the passengers of the vehicle from injury, when the pet is riding with them in the passenger compartment, but also prevent injury to the pet itself. Various pet safety harnesses are known, which restrain a pet in a vehicle in different ways.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,562 to Giroux discloses a Vehicular Pet Restraint which includes a harness portion for restraining a pet and right and left side attaching straps respectively provided with a latch member for releasable interlocking engagement with mating members affixed to right and left straps of a vehicle seat belt respectively. This device restrains the pet to limit its forward as well as sideways movement during front and side collisions. However, since the latch members of the attaching straps directly engage complementary vehicle seat belt buckle portions, different latch members or adaptors are required for different seat belt models. Also the pet restraint may only be used in the passenger compartment of the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,630 by Luce describes an Animal Safety Seat Belt, which includes an upper and lower restraint, front and rear straps affixed thereto for positioning around the body of an animal and a securement strap affixed to the rear end of the upper or lower restraint. The securement strap has an adjustable loop at its front end for securing the animal to a structural member of a vehicle such as a seat or a head-rest. This safety seat belt is independent of the vehicle seat belts and protects the animal from being forwardly thrown in the vehicle, but permits lateral movement of the animal during sideways collisions.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,541 by Thompson teaches a transportable pet restraint for restraining a pet within certain bounds in a vehicle. The restraint includes a harness and a clasp, which joins the harness with an existing seat belt of the vehicle. The harness has a belly band, a chest band joined to the belly band, a collar joined to the chest band and a member connecting the belly band and the collar with the clasp on the back of the pet. Once again, different clasps or adapters are required for attachment of the pet restraint to different seat belt models and the single attachment point on the back of the pet allows lateral movement of the pet during a sideways collision. Also, this restraint is directly attached to a vehicle seat belt buckle only, and, thus, may only be used in a vehicle's passenger compartment.
Consequently, a pet restraint for a vehicle is desired which limits forward and lateral movement of the pet during head-on and sideways collisions respectively, which may be used in both the cargo area and the passenger compartment of the vehicle and which is universally usable in combination with different types of seat belts.